OKLAHOMA CITY, Okla. – Missouri coach Tim Jamieson said his team had twice been jinxed by clothing.

In 2004, Missouri couldn't hold a lead in the Phillips 66 Big 12 Baseball Championship game and lost to Oklahoma State in 13 innings. Last year, the Tigers were within a strike of beating Texas A&M but lost on a 10th-inning walk-off home run.

Both times, Jamieson noticed the folks who distribute the hats and t-shirts to the winners lurking near the Missouri dugout before the scoreboard flipped against his team.

In the Tigers' final opportunity, they finally got to wear the swag that goes to the champ. Missouri let two leads get away before going ahead for good in the eighth inning to take an 8-7 victory over Oklahoma Sunday at Chickasaw Bricktown Ballpark. The Tigers (32-26) also earned the Big 12 automatic bid to the NCAA tournament and their postseason destination will be announced Monday.

"It's never easy and this was a tough way to do it," Jamieson said moments after giving his wife Cindy an emotional hug. "It's been a long time coming and you don't think it's gonna happen. This was a tough environment today, tough to hold a lead. We've been here before ... but it's never easy."

Missouri jumped to a 4-0 lead in the first with Ben Turner driving home two with a single. The Sooners (38-22) pulled to within 4-2 in the bottom of the fourth but the Tigers scored three in the top of the fifth. Second baseman Dillon Everett plunked a two-out, full-count single to short right to drive in the first two runs.

The Tigers' lead could have been larger but in the second inning, Eric Garcia tried to score from second on Turner's single to right. Garcia failed to touch home plate and was eventually tagged out by OU catcher Tanner Toal.

Oklahoma answered with three in the fifth and two more in the sixth to tie it at 7-7.

"I thought it was a terrific game," OU coach Sunny Golloway said. "A 7 to 2 deficit and we come back ... I thought when it was 7-7, it was going to take a special effort out of their dugout to win it and they did it."

The sixth-inning rally was short circuited by base running mistakes that plagued the Sooners over the final innings.

Garrett Carey, the home run hero in OU's opener, drove in two runs in the sixth. But when Erik Ross singled to right, Carey rounded second too far and was picked off. In the seventh, Caleb Bushyhead tried to score from first on Matt Oberste's double to right center from Dane Opel to Everett to Turner relayed to get the out.

"Great throw by Dillon on that relay," said Turner, a senior. "This means everything to the seniors, it means a lot to coach Jamieson to win this and get back to the NCAAs. The way Oklahoma kept coming back it reminded me of the Texas A&M game last year."

In the top of the eighth, the Sooners couldn't handle Missouri's small ball. Blake Brown led off with a single. Turner's sacrifice bunt was fielded by pitcher Steven Okert, who threw to second to try to get Brown. The throw skipped into center with Brown going to third and Turner to second. After a walk, Opel grounded into a double play with Brown scoring the go-ahead run.

In the bottom of the ninth, Oklahoma put the leadoff man on, bunted him to second and after a walk had the winning run at first. After Oberste popped out, Chase Simpson pinch hit for Toal. His grounder through the right side hit Bushyhead and went on through to Opel in right. His throw home beat pinch runner Dustin Dishman and Turner applied the tag even though it was moot.

"I thought I saw it hit the runner," Turner said. "Dane made a great throw. Either way, we got the last out. That's all that matters."

Oklahoma was in the Championship game for the first time since 1997, when the Sooners won the trophy.

"I know it's been since 1997," Golloway said. Nobody wanted it more than we did."